News & Media: Industry, Market News & Comment

The wealth report compiled by Knight Frank and Citi Private Wealth every year provides keen insights into what HNWI have been and are thinking about - Globally.  The focus of the report as always is on prime residential real estate and provides an overview of the collective conscience of HNW (respondents to the survey) and their views on residential property as an asset class.  Commercial property and its global performance is also covered and what is happening as well as where.  In viewing the prime residential index, remember this is Prime (prestige, luxury or premium) residential property, it would be a mistake to not segment the market as you would a bourse...Australia is ranked No.1 in the Asian region which may surprise many! The report is informative and some of the findings will surprise many of the readers, for example - "Which do you think will be the best performing property asset class in 2010"... and where is Sydney, Australia ranked in the world's top cities today?  And as always, we remind property buyers, the fundamentals of the property purchase are just as - if not more; important as the economics, this is not just a cypher view, see what HNWI rank as important....read more

"Looking holistically at the results, it’s clear to see that activity amongst the luxury markets is slowing. Potential purchasers of high value real estate (representative of the top 20% of suburbs) are likely to have been impacted by the recent share market volatility and the economic uncertainty filtering out of the USA and Europe. On the other hand, it is likely that the most affordable end of the market is also not performing as strongly as the middle market, due to the fact that this market is mostly characterised by first home buyers and low income families. The lower priced end of the market is more adversely affected by higher interest rates and tighter lending criteria from the banks. Given these factors, the ‘middle market’, representative of the ‘average’ Australian property buyer is currently the strongest performer."

Our thoughts: Value is clearly returning to the market, this needs to be tempered with the time of year and lower volumes of stock - we are also facing a federal election (which whilst in our view it shouldn’t impact the decision to invest in property, it clearly does), uncertainty with interest rates, volatility in the stock markets and diminishing confidence has resulted more broadly, but in considering the purchase of a new home or investment property now is a good time to buy and most certainly - represented buyers are getting the advantage in the market when considering value, gaining access to off-market properties and so on.  I am reminded of the often touted "super coach" of rugby league - Jack Gibson, the game is simple..."if you want to win, play where the seagulls are on the pitch" implying, the opportunity is where no-one is or looking, because the barriers and competition - and therefore the hard way through; is where the players are...I too prefer the easier softer way. You deserve the upper hand by leveraging expert advice in not just this - all things, we do this in most other areas of life and business...isn't better to keep it simple?

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The head of Australia's representative body for buyer's agents says more regulation is needed to protect house buyer's at auction...read more

Property investing has become a popular Australian pastime with one in ten taxpayers owning a negatively geared property. But just what makes a good bricks-and-mortar investment?read more

...to read Click here

Buyers need to beware of a properties estimated sale range before embarking on costly due diligence, if a buyer doesn't have a real chance of securing a property at auction then they need to consider whether they should invest in the due diligence at all...click here to read the article...

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...buyers need to think a little outside the square to gain a foothold in the tight housing market...read more

Underquoting...read more

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Residential property investment is the highest performing asset class over the last 20 years according to latest research...by Atchison Consulting.  Click here to read the article

The 2009 edition of the Wealth Report, compiled by Citi Private Bank and Knight Frank, indicates that luxury house prices have fallen around the world, but super-rich appetite for property remains undimmed...

Some of the key highlights include:

* Despite house price falls, the Knight Frank/Citi Private Bank Attitudes Survey shows that almost 55% of High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) plan to increase their exposure to residential property over the next two years.

* However, despite house price falls, the rich are committed to property as an asset class and the results of our Attitudes Survey, which represents the views of a cross section of Citi Private Bank’s wealthiest clients, reveal that 55% plan to increase their exposure to residential property over the next two years. In turbulent times the wealthy want their investments to be both tangible and transparent.

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With mortgage rates at the lowest levels since the 1960s and expected to fall further, the stimulus for demand to increase is in place. However, increased activity may be hampered by loss of confidence during the recession...click here